OT
if I disable data connection and disable 3G, then my old-ish smartphone (Huawei Boulder) can last more than a week (not sure how long because I never let it run out, but 3 weeks is probably out of reach) with moderate phone and sms usages. The small screen helps though (around 3"). Basically I used it as a feature phone. I'm sure a modern smartphone can last much longer if you use it as a feature phone as long as you keep the screen on time as little as possible.
Just don't buy a smartphone if you're not going to use it as a smartphone. Get a $22 Nokia 105 or something instead.
I have the original Galaxy S which has a 4" screen and I don't want anything bigger. Hopefully this phone lasts a while and someone ships a similarly sized phone. Otherwise I might need to switch to Apple. Maybe Blackberry will have a "small" phone...4.7" too small?! I'm sad that I have to move to 4.7" from current 4.3" because there's no real options out there except for HTC One, and IMO 4.3" is already on the edge of being "too big"
I have the original Galaxy S which has a 4" screen and I don't want anything bigger. Hopefully this phone lasts a while and someone ships a similarly sized phone. Otherwise I might need to switch to Apple. Maybe Blackberry will have a "small" phone...
I've currently got an Atrix (4" screen) and wouldn't want anything too much bigger than this.
I carry my phone in my trouser pocket and even the Atrix is a bit awkward at times. That said, the back case of the Atrix was so slippery (insane design decision!), that I've had to use a case which has added a couple of millimetres to each dimension. Modern smartphones tend to be a lot slimmer so perhaps a phone with slightly larger dimensions but thinner and less bulky wouldn't be as much of an issue as I might think?
Regardless, I can't see myself getting a phone with a screen of 4.7"+ as it would probably be too bulky for me. The Huawei Ascent D Quad seems to be the most compact of phones available with a 4.5" screen and I think I could certainly copy with a device that size.
On the other hand, my sister always carries her phone in her handbag and is thinking about getting a Note-style device with a 5"+ screen. If you're carrying it in a bag, size isn't so much of an issue.
At some point though, getting a phone smaller than 4.5" means you're getting a crappy phone. Unfortunately, besides the HTC 8X and BB Z10, no one wants to ship a modern smartphone with high-end build quality, good specs, and a 4.3" 720p screen. That's not a lot of choice.
The HTC First actually looks like a decent mid-range phone (albeit one without a microsd slot) and, as a HTC device, it should be well-built. The question is whether or not it can be hacked to get rid of the facebook-centric nonsense and install a good ROM such as Cyanogenmod. I'm making a general assumption here that the facebook stuff will be pretty rubbish!
Ive got a quad core, at 1.7ghz IIRCI think my ideal phone would probably be a dual core Snapdragon as I can't really see the need for quad core in a phone at the moment.
One big reason could be the fact that for example Android doesn't natively support MicroSD cards- microSD slot (I can't understand why there are smartphones without, should be mandatory like the SIM card slot)